Month: October 2015

I keep meaning to post, I even have 5 drafts saved… none of which are worth reading.

I think I’ll just share the things that have been distracting me.

There was a corral here when we moved in. It was six feet tall, held up on railroad tie posts, and fenced with 2X10 boards. I was dreading taking it down although I was happy to think about repurposing everything. I was pushing on it one day thinking about the best way to pull up the posts when “crack!” something gave way. I pushed again and one whole section toppled over. Those imposing railroad ties were nothing but black husks filled with dust… like my heart some would say. Hahaha! So we knocked it all down then used the bucket on the tractor to pull up the supports for the loading ramp.

Another day I finally had all I could stand of the thicket remnants behind the barn so I bulldozed everything. Not the barn of course! In the pile of rubble underneath all the brambles I found two wire milk cartons, a plastic toy shovel, a piece of Fire King cookware (still useable), and the bottom of a shopping cart. Oh, and foundation stem walls that run from the chicken house on the neighbor’s property right up under our barn! I don’t even know where to start remedying that situation.

Last Saturday I finally got around to burning the brush and brambles (and maybe assorted other sundry material) we had been piling up. I wound up with an ash pile about 11 feet in diameter and two feet deep.

While the fire burned Don and I took turns dragging the box scraper around to level as well as possible some of the rough terrain. That box scraper did exceptionally well.

I also found out that my heart – blackness not withstanding – is just fine. I mentioned to my doctor at my last visit that I had been feeling quite run down lately and in the course of the ensuing conversation mentioned that I couldn’t seem to catch my breath a couple of times after climbing the stairs at work. Well he was on that like a duck on a junebug! I told him it was nothing and in the end it turned out that I was right. Why do people always question me????? Foolish mortals! But for my nickel I got to see the my heart beating from the inside (really a sonogram representation of said heart but still…) which was pretty awesome. And I got to sweat on a treadmill – which wasn’t all that awesome. I spent several days wondering if there really was something wrong only to receive a diagnosis of overweight and under-exercised.

Perhaps the biggest distraction (and most disappointing) was the final understanding that we have a low-yield well. Poop. Poop. Poop! I am so disgusted. I guess we’ll have to be creative.

Wow, that was a large data dump. But… that’s what has distracted me. Some might call it life. I call it theatre!

I’m not ignoring this blog just paying the price for a day of unbridled indulgence.
The only internet service we could get out here is HughesNet. It’s actually not horrible service but there are data limits. We bumped up against those limits for the first time this month. It was totally my fault. I convinced Don to finally watch Sense8 and he picked up my obsession hahaha. We watched all 12 episodes in two days on Netflix which of course streams over the Internet.
So now our account is throttled down so it takes forever to download or upload. The good thing is our account resets in two more days. Yay!
It’s funny, we gained a lot of freedom out here but with that independence has come the responsibility of watching our usage of water, propane, Internet, etc.. But I am very happy to make the exchange.

We are attending our first beekeeping class and Pierce County Beekeepers Association meeting tonight.
Bring on the learnin’!
My interest in bees is purely mundane. I want to harvest my own honey. I am not ignorant of the plight of the honeybee. I know their numbers are declining due to insecticides and it might put a shinier aspect to the whole undertaking to say that’s why I want a hive in the pasture but this time my biological greed for sweet carbohydrates correlates pretty well with ecological good work. I can live with that.

“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a good shovel.” Pines Above the Snow (1943), ASCA 81

This is my first try at a video update so be kind! 🙂 The quality of the video seems to have degraded quite a bit somewhere in the whole process. Each day is a learning opportunity right?

Welcome!

One guy with one husband two grown children and a yapping dog plows his way through life, occasionally looking back and thinking "Did I do that?"

I hope you enjoy your visit.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.